Criminal Justice

The Bill of Rights protects us against suspicionless searches and seizures. It guarantees due process to individuals who are accused of crimes and humane treatment to those who are incarcerated. The ACLU works to ensure that our criminal justice system indeed is just.

Washington has joined the 3DaysCount initiative that highlights the harmful consequences that result when people who can’t afford to pay bail are forced to await their trial behind bars, and develops commonsense solutions.

Many people with a criminal record want to “expunge” or “clear” their criminal histories. While Washington law does not permit the destruction of adult, conviction records, some people may be eligible to “vacate” a conviction record, which allows them to legally claim that they were never convicted.

A new report that looks at police embedded in Washington state schools. Students, teachers, and school staff deserve safe, quality schools—but this cannot be accomplished by reliance on school policing.

The ACLU-WA has filed a petition asking the Washington Supreme Court to direct the Grant County District Court to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that requires them to determine a person’s ability to pay court system debts known as Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) before imposing these debts. When courts impose LFOs on people who cannot afford to pay them, individuals remain trapped in debt, stuck in poverty, and tied to the criminal justice system. Although the suit focuses on Grant County, similar practices exist in many courts around the state.

The ACLU of Washington has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Office of Public Defense (OPD)— the state agency responsible for public defense in Washington— for failing to enforce minimum standards of public defense in Grays Harbor County.